North Sea ecosystem change from swimming crabs to seagulls

• Published in: Biology Letters
• Main Authors: Luczak, C., Beaugrand, G., Lindley, J. A., Dewarumez, J-M., Dubois, P. J., Kirby, R. R.
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: The Royal Society 2012
• Subjects: Marine Biology; Lesser black-backed gull
• Online Access: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3441004; http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22764111; https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2012.0474

A recent increase in sea temperature has established a new ecosystem dynamic regime in the North Sea. Climate-induced changes in decapods have played an important role. Here, we reveal a coincident increase in the abundance of swimming crabs and lesser black-backed gull colonies in the North Sea, both in time and in space. Swimming crabs are an important food source for lesser black-backed gulls during the breeding season. Inhabiting the land, but feeding mainly at sea, lesser black-backed gulls provide a link between marine and terrestrial ecosystems, since the bottom-up influence of allochthonous nutrient input from seabirds to coastal soils can structure the terrestrial food web. We, therefore, suggest that climate-driven changes in trophic interactions in the marine food web may also have ensuing ramifications for the coastal ecology of the North Sea.